And it's not that that never happens.
It's just that winter is another story altogether.
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| yeah. Not this. |
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| so much this |
Taking care of horses in winter is hard.
It basically consists of being obsessed with weather apps and trying to not trip on frozen poop.
It's trying to decide if the horses need a medium weight blanket or a heavy weight blanket. And deciding that changing them twice a day seems to be a bit too much and could the temperature please stop fucking with me.
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| I need a vacation |
I actually have a good system worked out- I have my hay box with the slow feed net so that they can have access to forage all day. I also put some 'free hay' out in the field so that they have to walk and not just stand at the buffet like an older couple on a cruise.
They can go in and out of their stalls at will. I only close them in during storms. Today is one of those days. The forecast was for snow, followed by sleet followed by torrential rain. It's the rain that is most concerning because the snow can cause the water to back up and flood. Like this wonderful day a few years ago when the barn flooded.
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| early morning with the snow starting |
I let the horses out to have some outside time before the weather turned really bad. Of course they both flatly refused to step outside.
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| Irish: I am appalled that you would even consider this weather acceptable. |
Which is frustrating because Irish gets really annoyed at being locked in his stall. He's also really annoyed about the weather and won't go into it. Clearly, it's the principle of the thing.
I left them to it until I could hear the ice hitting the window. I went back to the barn and got their stalls organized. Irish immediately began running around.
Irish: noooo, I don't want to go in- I want to be out. I'm a hardy steppes horse!
Finally I got a lead around his neck and brought him in. Carmen ran into her stall with relief. Carmen is okay with being inside as long as the hay feeder keeps getting filled. Irish will likely forgive me.
In the meantime Guinness thinks that the weather is fine and doesn't understand why I'm not enjoying it.
We just got 2 feet of snow. Now it is headed down to -10 with 30-40 MPH wind. Nearly killed myself on a frozen poop ball hiding in the hay. I hate winter.
ReplyDeleteUgh. I would have preferred the snow to the rain we had. It's just so weird to have rainstorms in January! And those poop balls are a menace!
DeleteThese are the times I *don't* love having horses at home 🤦 so much extra work in the winter!
ReplyDeleteI know, right? Except that I would fret even more if they were boarded. What if the BO needed help and I couldn't get there? I tell myself that it helps to burn calories....
DeleteGuinness is adorable!
ReplyDeleteAt least it's milder here than up where you are - but winter is still challenging. Today's forecast was 65° + pouring rain - 26° + winds gusting to 45mph by tomorrow morning. I put the rain sheet on to keep Val from getting totally soaked before the temps plummet, and switched him to a med weight this evening. He got a stuffed hay bag in his shelter and big mash with extra salt for supper. These kind of conditions are definitely among my least favorite.
It's so hard for them to stay warm when wet and it's windy! We will endure but it's not easy. Still would prefer this to 100+ degrees in summer.
DeleteWow, and brrr!! At least your snow is a lot prettier then our sea of mud.
ReplyDeleteAs, but later this turned to rain so we had slush and then mud. Now the temps are dropping again so we have frozen mud. Which is not attractive at all. I wish we just had the snow!
DeleteThe temperature swings drive me crazy. It was 60F and sunny two days ago and 21F last night. The hardest part for me is that even with low 20sF at night it still gets in the mid 40s during the day and I work away from home. Changing blankets in the middle of the day isn't going to happen. So mine get blankets at night, pulled in the morning and have all their hair intact. They seem to survive just fine.
ReplyDeleteI don't change mid day either. Unless I'm not working. I agree that they can do fine. I would love to not blanket at all but we get so much wet weather that it's impossible. Aslo, Irish is hard to keep weight on and Carmen HATES to be cold.
DeleteI am trying to get up the courage to go work with the horses right now even though its in the 30s... But I am a wimp. I don't think I have what it takes to have horses at home in a place with real winter! I tip my hat to you.
ReplyDeleteThank you. the 30's are cold! Here on the atlantic we don't get the really cold temps like the midwest.
DeleteHahaha.
ReplyDeleteExpectation vs reality.
How accurate!
Oh yeah.
DeleteThis weather is the WORST. Thankfully, my two old men are perfectly happy to hang out inside! I think they were actually offended that they had to spend a few hours out this morning. Hope it warms up for all of us!
ReplyDeleteYour old men are smart! I want it to warm up but I also would be happy if the yo-yo temperatures would just STOP.
DeleteWe got about 2' of snow. And then the tractor decided not to start so we couldn't plow and got to trudge through the 2' of snow to let the ponies out. It's like 1/4 mile each way so I was ready to lay down and die by the time we got back, but instead we got to clean stalls because horse ownership is just an endless stream of fun. Today the tractor is starting, but the high is -1 so that's fun too.
ReplyDeleteOh that is hard! You need to get some snow shoes. They will make life much easier.
DeleteLol I love the photo comparison.... keeping horses in winter time is definitely *not* a glamorous business... stay warm and beware the frozen manure balls !!!
ReplyDeleteWe call them 'popsicles' around here.
DeleteDays like today I definitely second guess making horses my full time career...
ReplyDeleteyup. oh wait. I mean 'nope'. Horses are awesome. How else would we fill up our time.
DeleteIt was certainly a lot easier when we boarded our horses years ago. But then again there's the trade off of making sure they're well taken care of at home. Not a glamorous business at all. This week has been the pits. -2 last night and it got up to 3 degrees today. The herd couldn't wait to go out but then they couldn't wait to come in. They practically charged the gate to get in. Went through 3 bales of hay too.
ReplyDeletePoor starving creatures. Clearly very abused. Lol.
DeleteLOL Guinness. He's definitely a happy guy no matter what the weather, huh?
ReplyDeleteLike most dogs, his life is perfect as long as he gets his walks in.
DeleteI feel you. We were forecasted for 24" of sn*w over the weekend, but thankfully it seems to have been more like 10". And the temps are hovering around 0 degrees F with a nasty wind chill. But now we have rain coming on Thursday with highs in the 40s. Winter is not my favorite time of year!
ReplyDeleteYeah, we’re expecting that rain too. I’ll be happy is it stays warm enough for the rain to drain away and not freeze. We have no snow here at all.
Deletehaha yes I love how models are always ready to be glamorous with horses and not showing the reality of our freezing asses covered in frozen poop (says the girl who lives in San DIego but you know what I mean obviously) I'm literally always covered in shavings.
ReplyDeleteLOL, your hair and Carmen's tail- always full of shavings
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